


70. In Mrs. Skarsgard's Kitchen

by alley_oops, jennandanica



Series: Citadel: Luke Evans and Alex Skarsgard [70]
Category: Actor RPF, Citadel (Journalfen RPG), True Blood RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-02
Updated: 2008-11-02
Packaged: 2018-01-01 14:11:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1044873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alley_oops/pseuds/alley_oops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandanica/pseuds/jennandanica





	70. In Mrs. Skarsgard's Kitchen

_**Luke Evans: In Mrs. Skarsgard's Kitchen**_  
[backdated to mid-July, 2012, soon after [Alex and Luke work out some details of their engagement](http://www.journalfen.net/users/citadel_luke/8749.html)]  
[ **warning** for wiki!Swedish]

Gertrude Skarsgard has a broad English vocabulary -- it's not the words that are a problem. It's her pronunciation. She knows that, and is happy to laugh at herself right along with everyone else. But between her own thick Swedish accent and Luke's Welsh one, she has resorted to miming approximately half of their conversation. She's trying to show Luke how to prepare _kroppkakor_ , traditional pork-stuffed potato dumplings and one of Alex's favorite comfort foods. But she's not sure how to convey when the sizzling pork is just the right degree of crisp before they take it off the fire, and the details are important.

Luke grins at Alex's mum, checking out the pork in the skillet and inhaling deeply. "Mm. It smells delicious," he tells her, careful to enunciate each and every word. He considers it a real privilege to have her showing him some of Alex's favourite dishes and he wants to make sure she knows just how much he appreciates her effort, both with the recipes and in making him feel at home and part of the family.

She smiles back and pokes at the sauteeing onions with her spatula, lifting a few to show Luke how translucent they've turned. "You can see through them," she says. Alex told her that Luke is an amazing cook, so she hopes that he understands that she's telling him something noteworthy, and not just making an observation.

"Lovely," Luke says, nodding to show he gets it. He makes another note in the notebook he brought along. _Saute onions until translucent._ "What about the pork? How long do you cook it?"

"It's..." Gertrude frowns slightly, frustrated for a moment. She solves the problem by scooping a piece of meat from the pan and blotting oil from it with a folded paper towel before offering it to Luke to sample. "Like this."

Luke pops the piece into his mouth, groaning softly. "Mm. That's good," he says, eyes rolling with pleasure. _Cook until crisp and evenly browned,_ he adds to his notes. "What next?"

"Now we need the flour," she replies, pointing for Luke to get the chilled dough out of the refrigerator. She pulls a colorful table runner off of the kitchen island and quickly scrubs it down, then sprinkles flour generously over the wood. "Alex says that Elin is correct," Gertrude says, her heart pounding just a bit faster as she finally broaches the subject she's been thinking of all day. Her son gave her the news in confidence this morning, but surely she can discuss it with Luke. She hopes. "You are wearing a wedding ring." Watching Luke's face for clues, she hands him a rolling pin.

"Yes, I am," Luke says quietly, after a moment. He didn't know Alex had told his mum. He starts rolling out the dough. "Are you okay with that?"

She lights up, fisting her hands in excitement on the table, and bursts out with a stream of rapid Swedish. " _Jag skulle bli så lycklig. Vi har väntat så länge... Alexander var min första, men han väntar den längsta. Jag var orolig att han aldrig skulle..._ " Cutting herself off, Gertrude laughs a little, but looks concerned at how reserved Luke suddenly seems. "Are you happy?" she asks him softly.

The way Alex's mum lights up tells Luke everything. He gives her a huge smile and nods, blushing just a little. "I'm _really_ happy," he tells her. "Your son... he's so amazing and he makes me so happy. We're really good together."

Gertrude lets out a squeal, though she tries to keep it quiet and befitting a woman of her mature years. But she's just so damn thrilled. Completely ignoring the fact that they both have flour on their hands, she rounds the kitchen island and wraps Luke in a warm embrace. He's a good six inches taller than she is, but that just makes it an even better hug. "Welcome, welcome, welcome!" she exclaims. "Now say to me more. My family talks so much, and you talk so little. I want to know everything." With a wide grin she eases back and hands Luke a thick china mug to cut circles in the dough with.

"You mean about me?" Luke clarifies, starting to cut out the dumplings. "Well, I'm an only child but I have some cousins and my mum and dad and my nana and gransha are all still alive." He glances at Gertrude, making sure she's following him. "My parents are Jehovah's Witnesses but they're very accepting of my being gay and I think you'd really like them."

She nods. "We are Catholic," she tells him, then shrugs and grins. "But we are such lazy Catholics, so it means not very much. Your family, they know of Alex?"

"They know who he is and that he's my boyfriend, but they don't know we're engaged yet." Luke smiles. "I wanted them to meet him first, especially since it just happened."

"Ah, I see." Carefully she begins spooning pork onto the circles of dough, a precise amount for each one. "When will there be a wedding? Alex said that I should ask you."

"He did?" Luke blinks. "Um." Shit. "I'm not sure. I don't think we've even figured out where it will be yet," he says then figures he'd better explain. "He gave me the ring when we were in New Zealand but he didn't propose until the other night, after Elin asked and we left you guys. So this is all pretty new." He chews at his lower lip for a moment. "I'd like it to be sooner than later but I want a real wedding and I'd like it to be legal."

Gertrude nods and begins showing Luke how to pinch the dumplings together at the edges. "I was so worried that Alex would never have a wedding. Stellan said I must have patience, but I worry anyway. Alex, he is always so careful," she explains. "And that girl..." her mouth tightens into a frown. "She was not good for him."

Luke nods, watching Gertrude, careful to make his dumplings look exactly like hers. "Like this?" Good. "Yeah. He's told me about her. She sounds like a real-- like a horrible person." He glances at Alex's mum. "I would never treat him that way. It's just not in me. And I love him so much."

She smiles and lays her hand briefly on Luke's. "She is still calling? He told me that she called." Gertrude shakes her head in disapproval. "When you have a marriage, then she will stop."

Kate's still calling Alex? When? He's never mentioned it to Luke. "I'm sure she will," he says softly, reminding himself that Alex has chosen _him_. Is engaged to _him_. Still, he can't help but wonder why Alex never said anything.

"You make him so happy. It's easy to see when you are together," she says, beginning to lay the finished dumplings back in the frying pan. "He loves you very much."

Luke beams. "I'm glad you feel that way," he says. "It means a lot coming from you, from his family. Family means so much to both of us."

"That is good to hear." Fragrant steam rises from the stove. Gertrude wipes her hands on a dishcloth, then cleans the flour off the kitchen island. "Do you think that your family will like Alex so much as we like you?" she asks Luke with a smile.

"They'll love him," Luke says without hesitation. "I'm not sure how they'll feel about us getting married, but that has to do with us being gay, not with Alex, and I'm sure they'll get used to the idea." He inhales as the scent of the dumplings starts to fill the room. "Oh that smells so good."

"When they are all finished, I'll show you how to make a cream sauce," she says, momentarily distracted. Then she sighs and leans back against the counter. "Alex is a good boy," she tells Luke. "Slow to change his mind sometimes... But I guess actually not so slow with you." Which she finds very intriguing. "He thinks and thinks and thinks too much. And then finally he chooses something, and then he wants it instantly."

Luke smiles. "Has he always been that way? Or only since Kate?"

"Oh, always," Gertrude answers with a roll of her eyes. "Even when he was a little boy. But I think that because of Kate he was _too_ careful. Too serious," she says, struggling to express herself fully. "Not as ready to be happy." Looking up, she smiles at Luke. "But you make him happy." She's told Luke so already, she knows. But she can't even say what a relief it is to once more see her son without the thick veil of cynicism he'd developed.

It means the world to hear that. It's one thing to hear it from your lover and another to believe you do, but knowing that it's obvious to everyone around you, to the people who matter most to them, that fills Luke with such joy. "And he makes me happy. Happier than I've ever been in my life."

She smiles a little wider. "Good," she says simply, and lays her hands lightly on Luke's cheeks, pulling him down so she can place a kiss on his forehead.  



End file.
